November-December 2010

Letters
Right Now
Montage
Regional
John Harvard's Journal
Alumni
Pump
Treasure

The Psyche on Automatic

Amy Cuddy probes snap judgments, warm feelings, and how to become an “alpha dog.”
Alice Paul

Brief life of a pioneering suffragist: 1885-1977
A Lens on History

Photographer Susan Meiselas’s quest to understand via images. With audio from the interview.
“A Nation Arguing with Its Conscience”

Deliberative democracy, philosophical pragmatism, and Barack Obama’s conception of American governance

Explore More

Video: Modern-Day Romanticism

In her latest book of poems, April Bernard aims to capture the intensity of the Romantic Era. Watch as she discusses, and reads from, her work.

10.19.10

Your Take: Stereotypes and Snap Judgments

Have you had stereotypes applied to you? Do you notice your own snap judgments? Join our reader discussion.

10.19.10

A Lens on History

Photographer Susan Meiselas’s quest to understand via images. With audio from the interview.

10.19.10

Montage

Elizabeth Whittaker, at her office in Boston, with basswood architectural models for residential and commercial structures

Spartan Means, Splendid Spaces

Elizabeth Whittaker’s beautiful buildings look expensive, but aren’t.

The young Emily Dickinson, in a daguerreotype made in late 1846 or early 1847

Dickinson’s Trinity

In a new critical work, Helen Vendler assesses one of Emily Dickinson’s deceptively simple early poems.

Chocolate à la Vietnamese

Two San Francisco sisters add Asian and other original flavors to their gourmet confectionery.

“I like people to stand on tiptoe when they read my work,” says Bernard. “Not that it’s difficult to understand—but I’m trying to articulate complex ideas and feelings.”

Noir Romantic

Romanticism, a new collection by poet April Bernard, mixes disillusionment with emotion and playfulness.

A texting break, in Shanghai. Layers of tradition and modernity make it rewarding—and essential—to learn about China through its languages.

Off the Shelf

Recent books with Harvard connections

National Lampoon demolished icons of both the Left and Right. Here, a cream pie to Che Guevara’s face on a 1972 cover.

Funniest Pages

Rick Meyerowitz’s Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead is a compendium of the best pieces from the National Lampoon.

Chapter and Verse

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Letters

Cambridge 02138

Mill girls, mushroom mirth, folklore myths

Right Now

Fitness: Body and Mind

Caloric restriction and exercise boost mental acuity and motor ability by rejuvenating synapses.

Kindergarten Matters

An economist finds that good kindergarten teachers boost pupils’ earnings later in life.

Hypervelocity Stars

Stars escaping the Milky Way help Warren Brown and other astronomers map the distribution of matter in our galaxy.

The Power of Touch

Tactile sensations change perceptions, says psychologist Christopher Nocera.

New England Regional

Corky White relies on her local farmers’ market in Somerville, Massachusetts, for the foods she cooks, pickles, and preserves.

Local Bounty

A cookbook writer and anthropologist, apple ice wine makers, and a fermentation aficionado celebrate New England food.

Blue Flower at the American Repertory Theater

Extracurriculars

Late fall happenings at and around Harvard

Among Vee Vee’s charms are its boldly colored walls (Benjamin Moore’s “Autumn Cover”), a signature touch for co-owner Kristen Valachovic, an interior designer before restaurant life took hold.

Reliably Enterprising

Vee Vee in Jamaica Plain turns out innovative food that is fresh, healthy, delicious, and modestly priced.

John Harvard's Journal

Gut Renovation

Harvard renews an older building to create new labs in Cambridge for stem-cell research.

Drew Faust and Charlie Gibson in conversation

After the Storm: Presidential Perspectives

Early in the fall term, Drew Faust reviews Harvard’s improved finances, University governance, scientific misconduct, and other issues.

Marshall Ganz

The community organizer, who once worked with César Chávez, now teaches at the Kennedy School.

Scientific Misconduct, and Its Aftermath

An investigation of psychology professor Marc Hauser’s lab results in a misconduct finding—and questions for the field of animal cognition.

Endowment Improvements

A year after declining $11 billion, investment returns on Harvard’s endowment turn positive.

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard history

An 1866 self-portrait, when James was about 24 years old

William James: Summers and Semesters

A conference and an exhibition at Houghton Library showcase the legacy of the pioneering psychologist and philosopher.

50 Years of Social Studies

A groundbreaking undergraduate concentration celebrates half a century.

Time to “Change the Channel”

Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Michael D. Smith looks beyond financial constraints to academic priorities, from better teaching to renovated undergraduate Houses.